Steady rest for lathes



Patented Dec. 11, 1945 STEADY BEST FOR LATHES WalterF. Liber, Meriden, Conn.

Application November 1, 1943, Serial No. 508,497

3 Claims. o1. 82-38) This invention relates to lathes, and more particularly to a device for steadying a rotating work piece while it is being operated upon by the cutting tools of a lathe.

In turning wood or metal, difliculty is fre-' quently experienced in preventing the work from springing away from the tool; As the material thus springs and bends, it is apt to slip off the lathe centers, cause chattering, and produce uneven, irregular and rough surfaces on the work. By means of the present invention the above and other objections have been avoided.

One object of the present invention is to provide a lathe steady rest of the above nature, having a plurality of sliding finger pieces, which are adapted to engage the work when the tool is operating adjacent the tailstock of the lathe, and which finger pieces will be retracted when the steady rest is located near the central portion of the work.

A further object is to provide a steady rest of the above nature in which each finger piece'is carried by a slide plate mounted in a radial yoke carried by the supporting block ofthe steady rest.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a steady rest of the above nature, which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in View, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 represents a side view of a lathe upon which the present invention has been installed, the steady rest being shown located adjacent the tailstock, and the spindle of the latter being out of engagement with the work.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same, taken along the line 2-4 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of Fig. 2, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a portion of the finger plate showing the finger piece projecting outwardly therefrom.

Referring now to the drawing, in which like reference numeral denote correspond ng parts throughout the several views, the numeral l indicates a lathe bed, upon which are mounted a headstock H and a tailstock l2, provided with holding block as.

of the lathe bed work engaging spindles l3 and M respectively. The headstock is also provided with a face plate l5 having a slot in its periphery for receiving a finger l6 of an angular dog member H. The dog member I1 is adapted to be held securely upon a work piece l8 by means of a set screw I9, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The steady rest, forming the subject of the present invention, is shown at the right of Fig. 1, at the hollow end of the cylindrical work piece |8, and said steady rest comprises a two-part The bottom portion of the block 29 is provided with a flat guide foot 2| and a -grooved foot 22, which feet 2| and 22 are adapted tc rest upon a flat guide face 23 and a'V-shaped guide rib 24 respectively, forming part it, as shown in Fig. 2.

The feet 2| and 22 of the holding block are connected together by a horizontal crossbar 25 through which passes a vertical clamping bolt 25 having a bottom head 21 seated within a recess in a bottom cross-shoe 28.

The adjusting bolt 26 is provided on its upper end with a nut 29 which is adapted to tightly engage the crossbar 25 to clamp the block in any desired adjusted position along the length of the lathe bed.

Locatedwithin the holding block 20, which is preferably substantially circular in shape, are three rectangular finger plates 39, 3|, 32, ar-

ranged in equally spaced radial relationship around the periphery of the work I8, said plates being slidably mounted within three outstanding yokes 33, 34, 35, also radially arranged. At the inner ends of the finger plates 3|], 3|, 32 provision is made of three work-engaging flat finger pieces 36, 31, 38, the outer ends of which are curved at 39, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The finger pieces 36, 31, 38 are provided with two sets of aligned short slots 40, 4|, located at the outer and inner ends of said finger pieces respectively. Within the slots 4|), 4| are located pairs of screws 42, 43 for clamping the finger pieces 36, 31, 38 in adjusted position. The finger plates 30, 3|, 32 are each provided with radial slots 44, 45, 46 within which the finger pieces 35, 31, 38 are adapted to slide. The slots 44, 45, 46 of the finger plates are also adapted In order to hold the finger pieces 36, 31, 38 against the work l8 in any desired adjusted position, provision is made in the yokes 33, 34, 35 of a plurality of outstanding adjustable radial screws '51, '58, 59 located in tapped holes 60, and carrying square heads 6| 62, 63 on their outer extremities.

Provision is also made of a pivot pin 64 for hinging the upper portion of the holding block 20 to the lower portion of said block. The free end of the upper portion of said block is connected to the lower portion thereof by means of a locking bolt 65 pivoted at 86 to said bottom portion, and having a lock nut 61 seated upon a washer 68 located upon an outstanding ear '8 formed integral with said upper portion.

Operation In the operation of the present invention, when the steady rest is to be used to guide the center of a rotating work piece, which issupported at both ends by the headstock spindle l3. and the tailstock spindle It, the small finger pieces 36, 3,1, 38 will be retracted in their plates 30,31, 32, and the latter plates will directly engage the rotating work piece i 8. When, however, the holding block 20 is located at the right hand end of. the work, the tailstock spindle It will be separated a considerable distance from the end of the work l8; and will therefore be idle. In the latter case, the finger pieces 35, 31, 38 will be slid inwardly into engagement with the end of the work and will be held in such position while the work is being machined.

While here has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be, embodied, it is to be understood that this. form is shown for the purpose of illustration only and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a lathe including a headstock having a center point therein for mounting and supporting one, end of a workpiece, of a mounting for axially and rotatably supporting the other end of the workpiece, said mounting comprising a two-part holding block supported upon the lathe bed, means to hold said block in adjusted position along the length of said bed, said block having a plurality of radial yokes, a plurality of slotted plates carried by said yokes, the inner ends of said plates arranged to engage said workpiece and prevent radial play thereof, the inner ends of said plates being also provided with adjustable work-engaging finger pieces 10- catedin the. slots of' said plasma and extending beyond said inner ends and arranged to engage the end of said workpiece to prevent axial play thereof, and screw means to clamp each of said Eager pieces in position within its respective 2. In a steady rest for a lathe in which the workpiece is mounted on the headstock center point, a two-part holding block adjustably supported upon the lathe bed, said block having a plurality of radial yokes, a plurality of slotted plates adjustably carried by said yokes to prevent, radial play in said workpiece, the inner ends of said plates being provided with adjustable work-engaging. finger pieces located in the slots of said plates for preventing axial play of said workpiece, screw means to clamp each of said finger pieces in position within its respective plate, and cross bolts for locking said plates to said yokes, said finger pieces being provided with curved outer ends for embracing said cross bolts.

3. In a. steady rest for a lathe in which the workpiece is mounted on the headstock center point, a two-part holding block adjustably supported upon the lathe bed, said 'block having a plurality of radialyokes, a plurality of slotted plates adjustably carried by said yokes to prevent radial play in said workpiece, the inner ends of said plates being provided with adjustable work-engaging finger pieces located in the slots of said plates for preventing axial play of said workpiece, screw means to clamp each of said finger pieces in position within its respective plate, and cross bolts for holding said plates within said yokes, said cross bolts having heads formed thereon, which heads are provided with flanges for engaging said finger pieces to hold them in operating position.

WALTER F. LIBER. 

